Hurricane Irma

[LAKid53]

Do you know who gave that to them?



But knowing what is going on there should be a way to override that.

Yes, I do...the Florida Legislature established guidelines for institutions to meet to be declared pre-eminent. Student-faculty ratios, GPA, research $$$, stuff like that (similar to entry into the AAU). And the institutions have to meet them every year.

 

[sudokujesus]

So just so I'm clear...if I have a plane and offer you a seat for $2500, it is price gouging. But if I don't offer it to you at all, it's perfectly fine.

 

[21stamps]

So just so I'm clear...if I have a plane and offer you a seat for $2500, it is price gouging. But if I don't offer it to you at all, it's perfectly fine.

There are laws against price gouging.

These are usually addressed during natural disasters. Flights should qualify as one.

 

[cosmicgirl]

But knowing what is going on there should be a way to override that.

Of course there are ways to override it, but the result would be worse: people would buy a $200 ticket thinking they can make it out when the flight is actually already full and they'll be stranded. What's worse: scaring people away with ridiculous fares, making them look for another realistic way out, and being able to transport those who have a ticket, or make people believe they have a way out when the reality is that they won't have a seat? In the latter case they will have lost precious hours they could've spent on the road instead.

 

[cosmicgirl]

You can't sell something you don't have, not for $10k and not for $100k.
And yes, it would be "nicer" if the booking engines simply stated that no flights were available, but that's not how they normally work. These extremely complex systems are not designed to deal with emergency situations such as this one, so they go on overselling a flight up to their designed limit for however much people seem to be willing to pay.

 

[LAKid53]

So just so I'm clear...if I have a plane and offer you a seat for $2500, it is price gouging. But if I don't offer it to you at all, it's perfectly fine.

Not how it works. If that seat was $1,000 prior to the storm and comparable to other similar fares, it's price gouging. But if the seat was $2,000, maybe not.

 

[sudokujesus]

There are laws against price gouging.

These are usually addressed during natural disasters. Flights should qualify as one.

I understand there are laws against it. And it is (arguably) detestable to profit off of people in need...
...but the notion that the airlines are preventing people from getting out of harm's way is ridiculous. The flights are full. Charging $99 or $999 isn't going to increase the number of seats on the plane.

 

[LAKid53]

There are laws against price gouging.

These are usually addressed during natural disasters. Flights should qualify as one.

I'm sure there are exceptions in the law. If I remember, the law references necessities of life - water, food, shelter, maybe gas. One tree service in Tally got hit with a charge of price gouging.

 

[cosmicgirl]

If they are full then they should say "no available flights match your criteria".

Some people are still buying those crazy priced flights. That fits the description of price gouging imo.

Agreed, but the systems aren't smart enough to realize that this is an exceptional situation and flights should not be oversold.

 

[JWG]

Florida has state specific price gouging laws, the airlines are not subject to them because they are federally regulated. That said, most airlines have either rectified the problem or suggested people call the reservation center direct to ensure good service to support needs out of Florida.

 

[21stamps]

Florida has state specific price gouging laws, the airlines are not subject to them because they are federally regulated. That said, most airlines have either rectified the problem or suggested people call the reservation center direct to ensure good service to support needs out of Florida.

This is my issue though, great- they've rectified it, are flights suddenly available now? Are they refunding the people who already paid those insane prices?

What about all of the people who didn't book yesterday because of the prices?

Too little too late. Oh well.

 

[21stamps]

S

I'd love to follow a thread that talks about Walt Disney World & Hurricane Irma's impacts on it.

This has basically become a "chatroom" for the same few people to babble randomly about this & that.

Disappointing.

Apologies that some of us are worried about actual human beings and homes and history as opposed to being as concerned with the potential impacts on Walt Disney World who at this point is not under any kind of evacuation.

 

[JWG]

This is my issue though, great- they've rectified it, are flights suddenly available now? Are they refunding the people who already paid those insane prices?

What about all of the people who didn't book yesterday because of the prices?

Too little too late. Oh well.

Any of those individuals should call the airline(s) directly. Many have either added flights or upsized the aircraft on existing. They can only do so much as well. It's not like there's a warehouse of 100 extra planes sitting around waiting to go into service. I don't work for nor am I defending the commercial airline industry, but they're trying. I think forward thinking people got ahead of them when they tried to book airfare out of FL and the automated algorithms kicked in before the airlines reacted. Not saying it's right, but I don't believe they were intentionally trying to profit (more) off of those in need.

 

[John park hopper]

Have a question: Why can't Amtrak, Greyhound and the airlines put more planes, buses etc in service for areas like Miami and Lauderdale, West Palm beach, more trains to get people out. Is it logistically impossible?

 

[FabulousFigment]

Watching the weather channel. They just showed the bridge out of the keys and it was pretty much vacant. Now is the time to leave if you can!!

Also, if anyone is looking for lodging away from the coasts, I have had friends who have had luck on airbnb with vacation rentals in and near Kissimmee, Davenport, and Orlando.

 

[wdwmagic]

Guys, let's keep this thread to the current situation. If you would like to talk about price gouging, please start a new thread in Chit Chat. Thanks!

 

[cosmicgirl]

People need to be smart enough. A state of emergency was declared.. mandatory evacuations were issued, airlines knew they would most likely change flights, they could have paid attention and somehow stopped the prices. All of the humans realized that this was an exceptional situation.

Based on what I've seen in the past 24 hours the big rush only started today, but I'll gladly admit that I can't speak for Key West. We've been going back and forth on a last-minute trip to WDW arriving some time this week for nearly a month now and I've been keeping a close eye on hotel rates and availability, as well as airfare to, from, and within FL this whole time. Before I went to bed yesterday there was plenty of availability at normal prices (again, can't speak for EYW) and it wasn't until this morning that getting a Disney hotel became an issue for Sunday night. The other nights were still fine and you could book well into next week and even beyond that. The same was true for flights. Now, however, it is clear that the situation has changed. Over the course of the day availability has changed drastically.

 

[wdwmagic]

Local news outlet Wesh 2 is forecasting 90mph sustained winds for the theme park areas Sunday night into Monday morning.

 

[LAKid53]

Have a question: Why can't Amtrak, Greyhound and the airlines put more planes, buses etc in service for areas like Miami and Lauderdale, West Palm beach, more trains to get people out. Is it logistically impossible?

1. Amtrak doesn't own the tracks its trains run on - they are owned by the freight train companies, who have priority.

2. You just can't "add" more flights to a major airport. FAA regulations regarding the number of departures and arrivals per hour must be maintained for safety. Plus, airlines aren't going to be willing to put aircraft costing $10-$15m per in harm's way.
3. Commercial buses may be viable

 

[worldfanatic]

Apologies that some of us are worried about actual human beings and homes and history as opposed to being as concerned with the potential impacts on Walt Disney World who at this point is not under any kind of evacuation.

This WDWMagic.
Things should be focused on Walt Disney World.
There's plenty of other places for random chit-chat.

Or try the local Starbucks if you need friends.